New $13.8M Health Sciences, Technology Building can accommodate 500 students

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 4:09 PM

Roane State Community College students returning to class Monday will undoubtedly be the first of many to enjoy the amenities of the new Goff Health Sciences & Technology Building located at the college’s Oak Ridge campus and named for former RSCC president — and 2012 “Muddy Boot Award” recipient — Gary Goff.

by Sara Wise/The Oak Ridger

Roane State Community College students returning to class Monday will undoubtedly be the first of many to enjoy the amenities of the new Goff Health Sciences & Technology Building located at the college’s Oak Ridge campus and named for former RSCC president — and 2012 “Muddy Boot Award” recipient — Gary Goff.The Goff building, which broke ground for construction in June 2012, is a $13.8 million investment for Roane State.“Money invested in this building is money invested in the community,” Campus Vice President Melinda Hillman stated. The 65,000-square foot, three-story building was designed to help ease student overcrowding and features 14 classrooms, seven labs, 37 faculty offices, an adjunct faculty area, three conference rooms, two lecture halls (which can stream simultaneously to and from one another), 15 student study areas and five computer labs including a Mac lab. The new building includes more than 300 computers. On the first floor, there is a nursing lab, surgical technology lab and an Occupational Therapy lab which will double as a free OT Clinic sometime in the near future. All of those labs are installed with the latest equipment, their own surgical sinks and the technology needed to enhance learning in the classrooms.There is also a massage therapist lab with 10 massage tables — a lab large enough to accomodate classes of 20 students and which is expected to offer $25 massages to the public on Fridays in the spring.Additionally, Hillman said space has been saved for a future ultrasound program, which has been delayed due to that industry’s current job market. She said that too many students are receiving training in the field, and that there just aren’t enough jobs to go around at this point.“The last thing we want to do is train with a one-year program, and then they have no jobs,” Hillman explained.The Goff building is classified as a LEED-certified building.The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification requires that a building be both energy efficient and environmentally friendly. So the building is decked out in environmentally friendly features, furniture and architecture.In fact, it seems nearly every piece of the building was designed with an eco-friendly eye — including the flat white roof that reflects sunlight to the rock garden landscaping that serves to drain groundwater after periods of rain. Nearly every light in the building is motion activated and “light aware,” meaning the lights will differ in intensity depending on the amount of natural light coming in to a particular room. The entire building is outfitted with geothermal heating, which Hillman said involves 70 deep underground wells that circulate liquid through the pipes. The liquid goes so deeply into the ground that it’s always warmed to around 55 degrees before it reaches the building.This system — along with other steps taken during the Roane State building’s deliberate construction — is expected to help reduce utility costs up to 40 percent. And, as alluded to earlier, even the carpets and furniture meet “green” standards with much of the furniture often doubling as charging stations with built-in power supplies.Indeed, each floor holds multiple seating areas where students can charge devices “on the go,” and take a few minutes to relax between classes. Besides the computer labs, the hallways are outfitted with a few computer systems and power stations specifically for students who might need to take a minute to check e-mails or get some work done during “down time.”The Oak Ridge campus has about 2,500 students and can finally house them all. It was originally designed for 1,800 students.The new multi-million-dollar Goff Health Sciences & Technology Building alone will hold 500 students, according to information provided by Roane State. Faculty members started moving offices into the Goff building last month.There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. The public is, of course, invited and the event will include speakers in the lecture halls, as well as student demonstrations of new equipment.Sara Wise can be contacted at (865) 220-5501.